The Return of Forrest Gates
by Soledad
Summary: Crossover with Angel and BtVS. The Forrest storyline of my own AU now put together. WIP
1. Chapter 1: Broken Doll

THE RETURN OF FORREST GATES

by Soledad Cartwright

A ''Pathways in the Dark'' story.

Disclamer: Most of the characters in this story belong to their respective creators. The Nosferatu characters' names were borrowed from the Nosferatu Genealogy of White Wolf Online. I don't know a thing about them, but found the names interesting and gave the characters a background of my own. 

Rating: PG - 13, for major angst

Author's notes:

1. This is basically an Angel story, but in strong connection to Kindred: The Embraced and Poltergeist - The Legacy. There are also slight hints to other series, vampiric or not.

2. Hawk is a character played by the wonderful Avery Brooks, in not only one but two detective series: 'Spenser - For Hire' and 'A Man called Hawk'. I always thought that he'd make a wonderful vampire, so I made him one.

3. In the Angel/Buffy timeline, the story starts after 'Primeval' in Buffy's season 4 and continues in my own alternate universe after the finale of Angel's season 2. Basically, in my universe, the whole Pylea storyline of Angel didn't happen; I found it very silly and replaced it with events of my own.

4. This story is part of my 'Pathways in the Dark' series, but it starts an independent arc. I only wrote it because I liked Forrest (a lot), and I was angry that Joss killed him out. Plus, he always thought of vampires and demons as wild animals, so I thought it would be fun if he wouldn't have any other chance than become one of them. 

5. I've put the individual Forrest stories together, since I've finally figured out how the chaptering system works; besides, it was the more logical choice. This way I've lost some of my reviews, but everything has its price. sigh

CHAPTER ONE: BROKEN DOLL

Timeline: Summer break of 2000

It was almost sunset when Hawk arrived at the small town the humans called Sunnydale. He didn't like the idea of coming here, where the Slayer claimed territory. The girl herself was no more than any other hunter, the first one had been the real hunter, but her essence had been bound to something ancient, bound to this plain of existence. The organization which supported her preserved her knowledge from one incarnation to the next, increasing the danger which she represented. Killing her would not be sufficient to eliminate the threat of her existence.So the Camarilla simply avoided her.

The Slayer believed she knew of vampires. She ruthlessly hunted down and destroyed the Anarch and their Childer, believing that they were the sum and total of his race. The Camarilla was happy to leave her to her chosen amusement. She might even prove to be an involuntary ally against the Sabbat - not that she knew about it, of course, and without the necessary knowledge about the most vicious of the undead, she had little chance to survive, which is why most of her kind never got older than twenty.

Hawk parked his huge, elegant, snow white car outside the big, beautiful, abandoned mansion, behind one of Sunnydale's countless cemeteries. His mortal friend, a grumpy private investigator with the name of Spenser, used to call the car Hawk's 'business card'... wherever it appeared, Hawk couldn't be far. The big, black man sighed and shook his bald head. Spenser had no idea he worked together with a vampire for decades, but Hawk suspected, it wouldn't have bothered him. The human only cared for people's deeds - it didn't matter for him what colour their skin was... or what they preferred for dinner. He'd died in a shooting accident half a year ago, leaving Hawk desperately alone... and setting him free at the same time. 

He'd vowed when he met this extraordinary human being, almost thirty years ago, that he wouldn't leave him as long as he needed help. Now, that Spenser was dead, Hawk didn't see any reason while he should stay in Boston. The city was much too cold for his taste... as a mortal, he used to live in New Orleans, although that was a completely different city then, in the 1820es, and he found that he wanted to live in a nice, warm place again. 

He considered for a short while returning to New Orleans but decided against it. It wasn't his home anymore, and he wanted to keep the memories of his long-gone childhood intact. While he made a stop in New York, he learnt through the famous Nosferatu information web that his old friend, Angelus moved to Los Angeles and declared it his City, after having killed the unfaithful Brujah Prince who had been proven to be in secret alliance with the Sabbat. It was said that Cyrus' power struggles almost got the Camarilla Clans extinct, including his own, and the few Kindred who remained in the City were either recently Embraced or without a proper leader - or both. 

Learning that Hawk had finally left the world of the Kine, the eldest and most powerful Nosferatu leaders asked him to go to the City of Angels, where his Clan was almost non-existent, after Cyrus' Lasombra priestress literally hunted them down. The few scattered neonates desperately needed a strong and capable leader, and since Hawk was able to travel among mortals - due to his considerable skills in alchemy, he could appear almost human for a rather long while -, the Elders wanted him to take things in L.A. into his hands. 

Hawk didn't mind the mission. He had lived in L.A. earlier, in a beautiful hotel called the Hyperion (which was where he met Angelus the second time, after their extended studies in San Francisco by Daedalus himself), and found the city rather agreeable. Besides, he looked forward to meet Angelus again. There coursed the most incredible rumours about him in Kindred society, and Hawk would have loved to know what was true of them and what wasn't. So he said yes, and his Nosferatu brethren spread the news quickly, even before he'd have reached the outskirts of his new home city. 

But before he'd have gone to Los Angeles, he needed to pay the Hellmouth a visit. There were many Nosferatu, living in the tunnels and caves under the town... and they were in grave danger. Not only because of the Slayer who wouldn't have been able to make a difference between peaceful Kindred and the Anarch - or even the Sabbat monsters -, but also because of the secret military activities that were reported in the area. The virtual information pathways of the Nosferatu were full of horrible news about experiences made on vampires and demons. The Kine obviously took an interest on the older races, and it wasn't safe for the Kindred any more to live at the Hellmouth. Hawk intended to take as many of his Clan with him to L.A. as he could. 

He got out of his car and entered the once-wonderful, huge mansion, looking for the living-room where he was supposed to meet his contact. At first, he only saw huge piles of garbage in the empty, airy room, but then he detected the small, crumpled figure, melting completely into the rubbish. No one knew which generation of Clan Nosfratu Bat Child actually belonged - he was always there, as long as anyone of his brethren could remember: a short, wiry guy with bald head, large, almost bat-like ears and a face that reminded more of the snout of a bat than of a human face - which was while he got his name. But Hawk new that Bat Child was not only the most reliable source of information but also the ultimate survivor... one of the few who survived even the horrible earthquake that buried half of Sunnydale almost a century ago. 

Bat Child seemed happy to see him... and eager to tell about the events of the last few years, starting with the death of the last High Master of the Order of Aurelius by the hand of the Slayer, the unexpected turning of Angelus to the Dark Side and him being sent to Hell (also by the hand of the Slayer), his even more unexpected return, the horrible Ascencion of Mayor Wilkins as the demon snake Olvikan, with the help of a rogue Slayer and his destruction that resulted the explosion of Sunnydale High. 

But the more recent, more frightening stories were about the Initiative, the secret government lab with military elite units guarding it, disguised as college students; about Adam, the man-demon-machine monster that only could have been defeated by a dangerous ritual the Watcher of the Slayer celebrated with a young witch; about Adam's plan to slaughter Kine and demons and vampires equally and replace them with his own kind. 

''He managed to make a few'', Bat Child explained. ''Most of them were little more than mindless machines... except of one. A young Initiative soldier whom he captured before the boy died. Surprisingly, Adam didn't replace his hearth with an uranium power core similar to his own. So he is... was... basically a human with a few demon parts and mechanical implants.'' 

''What happened to him?'' Hawk asked, his curiosity awaken. Bat Child shrugged.

''Well, the Slayer almost destroyed him. We found his body in the ruins of the secret Initiative lab. With Adam gone, he got his own will back... but he's dying. We removed the demon parts and the implants - now he's little more than a slab of half-dead meat. He has no real chance to survive... if not...'' 

''If he doesn't get Embraced'', Hawk finished for him. ''With the healing abilities of a Nosferatu and a long and painful therapy, not to mention lots and lots of alchemy, he actually could make it. The question is... would he want it?'' 

Bat Child shrugged again. ''We could ask... It's not that our Clan wouldn't need new neonates, you know. And he would make a beautiful Childe.'' 

'You want to Embrace him?'' Hawk asked. 

Bat Child shook his bald little skull. ''No, I'm not strong enough to make a Childe right now. The last years were hard on all of us. The only thing I really want is to leave Sunnydale as soon as possible. But you could do it.'' 

''Why me?'' 

''You're strong and authoritive. You could earn his trust, his respect and his love. And it would be better for him to leave this place as well. L.A. is a place where people can easily disappear.''

''That's right'', Hawk agreed; then he asked.''Would you like to come with me as well? I've already found a huge underground apartment under a recently destroyed industry building. It used to be Angelus' lair but he doesn't need it anymore, since his kind prefers more... comfortable havens. There would be room for a dozen of us... and I'd like you with me.'' 

Bat Child looked at him in honest surprise. ''Why would you do that? I mean, even our own Clan considers me little more than a rat...'' 

''Because you're smart and brave and faithful... and you are a survivor.'' Hawk said. ''I need people like you if I'm to reconstruct our shattered Clan in L.A.'' 

If it had been possible for a vampire to blush, Bat Child would have been beet red. ''Well, if you put it that way... nothing keeps me here.'' 

''Good, then it's settled'', Hawk nodded. ''Now, sow me that kid: Let's see if he wants to become one of us.'' 

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

Bat Child led him into what used to be the bedroom, in the back side of the mansion. In a corner, spread on a few more or less dirty blankets on a king-sized bed, lay a young, black guy, in his early twenties. His once beautifully shaped, well-muscled body was deformed by horrible scars, he lacked an arm under his elbow, his bald head looked like someone had had cut out his whole scalp, his skin almost gray. 

Hawk examined him thoroughly, glad that he'd thought of bringing his alchemy kit from his car, then lifted a fluttering eyelid. The liquid dark eye was almost broken. 

''Can you hear me, boy?'' He asked. 

The lid fluttered in agreement. 

''Do you know what we are?'' 

Another fluttering of the eyelid, then a whisper, only audible for his enhanced vampiric hearing. ''You're... vampires...'' 

''That's right. Can you remember what's happened to you?'' 

''Doesn't matter... I'm dying anyway...'' 

''Yes, you are.'' Hawk agreed with brutal honesty. ''Your only chance to survive is beco-ming one of us. It's a slim chance, granted, but we might be able to fix you... after your Change. A human body is too weak for such extended injuries.'' 

A barely audible sigh escaped the dry, torn lips of the boy. 

''Then... let me die... Don't want... to become... a monster...'' Hawk shook his head, irritated. He'd already taken a liking on the boy; besides, the Clan desperately needed new Childer. He wasn't ready to give up on the boy just now. 

''We're not like the Anarch vampires you know'', he said gently. ''Look at me!'' 

The lifeless eyes opened a bit. The boy seemed somewhat awed that he wasn't looking at a monstrous face.'' 

''I'm almost two centuries old'', Hawk said quietly, ''but I've never killed a human to feed. There are other ways. Most of us live in a closed society, with its own rules and laws and traditions. We're even able to walk in the sunlight for a short while. And we love and protect our own.''

''But you... drink blood...'' 

''Yes, we do. But nobody has to die for it. There are more... civilized ways to find nourishment. Besides, it's better to live on a liquid diet than rot under the earth, isn't it?'' 

The eyebrows fluttered again, in agreement. ''Why... havent you... just turned me...?'' the boy asked. 

''We don't Embrace anyone without their permission'', Hawk answered grimly. ''We're no Sabbat monsters. We don't make minions, we make Childer. My friend here and I think, you'd make a wonderful Childe. But we wont take you without your agreement. Not even to save your life.'' 

The boy's eyes fell closed again. Bat Child became restless. 

''You should make your decision quickly, kid'', he said. ''Your time's running out.'' 

The boy sighed, exhausted, hopeless, broken. Hawk's heart went out for him. He could be so much more than a deformed corpse, why won't he accept his only chance? What graphic tales was he told about vampires, how could he chose to just die? 

A limp hand moved an inch on the blanket and touched Hawk's large, cool one. A whisper, almost inaudible, even for him, followed. ''Would you... destroy me... if I... can't... live... your ways...?'' 

''I promise.'' 

''Then... do it...'' 

Hawk felt the savage joy filling his slow-beating heart. After such a long time he'd finally found a perfect Childe, and he was willing! Now if he just could survive the changes the Embrace would force upon his already broken body, he could bring a new beginning to the los Angeles Nosferatu. 

The former Enforcer carefully slid his big arms under the aching body of the dying boy and bent his bald head over the exposed neck. He started gently licking the sweaty, salty skin to prepare it for the Kindred Kiss... the ecstasy of blod-sharing - and the dying and rebirth. 


	2. Chapter 2: Becoming a Monster

THE RETURN OF FORREST GATES

by Soledad Cartwright

A ''Pathways in the Dark'' story.

Disclamer: Most of the characters in this story belong to their respective creators. The Nosferatu characters' names were borrowed from the Nosferatu Genealogy of White Wolf Online. I don't know a thing about them, but found the names interesting and gave the characters a background of my own. 

Rating: R for m/m sexual context, character death (sort of) and some major angst

Author's notes:

In case someone would wonder about the strong sexual undertones of my vampire stories - there is a reason for them. I understand vampires as highly sensual creatures, partially because they possess all those heightened senses and partially because they are immortal, unless you kill them. You don't have to agree with me, however - there is always the ratign to consider, so that you won't read anything you don't like.

CHAPTER TWO: BECOMING A MONSTER

Timeline: Summer break of 2000 

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

The Nosferatu Embrace is a brutal thing. In many way, more alienating than the Malkavian Embrace. The body is one's most prized possession, and disfigurement of the flesh usually results in disfigurement of the mind. 

The transformation usually takes a week. It begins with minor pain, as if a person were to light all your nerve endings with a candle. By the end of the week the candle was become a blowtorch. At the end is when the Childe realizes the extent of his transformation. He has become a monster. Many neonates lose their sanity, and it is their Sire's responsibi-lity to hunt down these beasts and destroy them. 

In Hawk's case, however, there was nothing to fear about it. The boy had already been in so much pain and so weakened, not to mention so disfigured by Adam's experiments that the Change wold have been a blessing. Assumed, of course, he survived it at all. Fortunately, he was unconscious most of the time. 

Hawk used this fact to perform his alchemy on him, meticulously restore his body to the semi-human form he'd be wearing for the rest of his unlife, unless in Frenzy. There wasn't much he could do for the missing arm, except of an fusing it with a dead man's limb, and since such things couldn't Change with the rest of the body, the boy would end up with mismatched hands: an implanted, human-like one and another one with heavy talons, like all Nosferatu had. 

They stayed at the maison for almost three months. Bat Child explained that they won't be disturbed here, this being once Angelus' lair as well, whom all the Anarch feared and hated. The Slayer avoided the place, too... for different reasons. So they were able to use it, with Hawk hiding his white car in the underground parking lot. Long time ago, the place must have been beautiful, with a large garden and marble statues standing between the great, old trees and rose bushes al along the walls and wrought iron fences. No wonder Angelus liked to stay here. Hawk could have stayed here, too. 

But it still wasn't safe enough, and Hawk planned to move as soon as the boy could be transported. Aside of Bat Child, a few other Nosferatu gathered around him in the mansion, all of them either Anarch or/and of unknown generation and bloodline... lost even in terms of the Damned. They all planned to accompany Hawk in L.A... and they all had gotten overly excited and worried about the promise of a new Childe after such a long time. 

The Nosferatu usually chose their progeny quite meticulously. The most common trait for most Nosferatu was alienation from mortal society. The Nosferatu chose from the deformed, autistic, hopelessly antisocial and criminally insane. This was the reason for the Clan unity that is unparalleled in the Camarilla. Whom else could a monster turn to but another monster for comfort? When you spend your life alone, any company, even that of monsters, is palpable. The Elders of the Clan had long known this. This way, they had found that a few words of genuine praise so much more effective than the Domination and Blood Bondage that the Ventrue and Tremere clans are so fond of using. 

This was the way Hawk treated his new followers, first and foremost the faithful little Bat Child, and they answered by helping him with everyone they could. They cleaned up the place (carefully leaving the exterior looking abandoned), they hunted for him so he was able to feed his new Childe, they bathed the boy and tended his grave injuries. One of them always kept watch so that Hawk could get some much-needed rest. And all of them were waiting for the boy to finally awake. 

It didn't happen until into the fourth week. The boy went over the Change unusually slowly but in blessed oblivion, having been unconscious most of the time - his few waking moments were full of incredible pain. Since Hawk had to involve heavy amounts of alchemy in order to heal and reconstruct him, the physical changes of his apperarance were negligable: just elongated earlobes and a more defined bulging of his forehead in his human disguise. He even kept the human fingerneals on his single hand, in spite of his Sire's expectations. Of course, there also were the horrible scars his previous ordeals had left. Hawk's vast knowledge in alchemy could make his implanted arm work, but the difference between the two hands was obvious, and although his skull eventually healed, replacing his removed scalp with new skin where the spiked demon parts used to be applied, the rough, thick scar tissue criss-crossing the back of his head clearly remainded of his grave injuries. 

''He's perfect'', Bat Childe whispered to Isis, the small, cat-like former Indian temple dancer. ''Now that his broken ribs and fractured limbs have healed, he'll become strong again, soon. The Vitae of Hawk is very powerful... it will heal him. I'm just too glad we found him in time. Never in centuries has our Clan had such a beautiful Neonate.'' He looked at Hawk. ''Are you gonna Claim him?'' 

The alchemist shook his head. ''It's not our custom, you know that.'' 

''I know'', Bat Childe nodded. ''But it wouldn't be for your pleasure only. It could prove necessary for his our protection. He's just too pretty. But you... you're respected and feared, not only among ourselves but by the other Clans as well. Everyone knows that you used to be the personal Enforcer of Castillo... No one would dare to touch him if he's under the protection of a Justicar... even a retired one. 

Hawk gently caressed the few healed body parts of his newly-embraced Childe with one large, heavy hand. 

''Oh, I'd certainly love to Claim him'', he confessed. ''I haven't taken a male lover for decades, and he's so beautiful, despite the Change, even for the human eye. But I wouldn't touch him against his wish... he's far too precious for me.'' 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

His new Childe, his strong, beautiful boy, whose name he still didn' know, slowly opened tohse dark, liquid eyes ofhis and licked those full, soft, luscious lips that could make the strongest man week in the knees. He seemed to recognize Hawk. 

''You...'', he said with a weak voice, ''I... I remember you. You... saved me... healed me... Have I changed yet?'' 

''Yes, my Childe'', Hawk nodded, eyes shining with love, pride and happiness, ''although mostly in the inside. You look hardly different.'' 

He held a mirror in front of the boy who frowned. ''Why... do I have a... reflection?'' 

''Why shouldn't you?'' Hawk wondered; then he smiled. ''Oh, I see. Well, our Kind does have a reflection. Only those of mixed Blood don't. We're much closer to mortals, you know.'' 

''But we're... still... dead'', the boy said. 

Hawk nodded. ''That's right. Now, tell me, how do you feel?'' 

''F-fine, I think. Weak and tired, but... actually... fine.'' 

''That's good, Childe. Are you still Thirsty?'' 

''N-not so much. I... remember you... feeding me... a lot. I couldn't speak or... open my eyes, but... I heard everything... about me... all the time... I remember... the taste of your blood... so rich and sweet...'' 

Hawk smiled, and with a heavy talon opened the big vein in his wrist. He carefully lifted the boy's scarred skull and pushed the soft lips to the small wound. The kid started sucking immediately, and Hawk shuddered with the sensations. 

''Drink, my sweet Childe. You need to regain your strength. Sooner or later, we'll have to leave the Domain of the Slayer.'' 

The boy stopped feeding, his eyes big and frightened. ''Where're... gonna go?'' 

''To L.A. I was elected to lead our Clan in that City. I've already sent Four-Eyes there to prepare our haven. But we can't move as long as you're weak and defenseless.'' He gently pushed the bald head away from his wrist. ''That's enough now, Childe. I'll arrange for mortal blood for you; it will nourish you better.'' 

The boy nodded obediently and licked the small wound to seal it. The thought of having to drink human blood didn't seem to freak him out a bit. Hawk smiled. 

''You're a quick study. Have learnt a lot in your stupor, just by listening to the others.'' 

''Thanks'', the boy eyed him carefully. ''Thell me... what's... Claiming?'' 

''In some Clans, and by all the Anarch and clanless, the Embrace is completed through the Sire having sexual dominance over the Childe'', Hawk explained. ''That's called Claiming. It's a symbol that the Childe belongs to the Sire. Other Kindred can smell it, and it makes them carefull by dealing with the neonate.'' 

''Would you... Claim me?'' 

Hawk frowned. ''It's not a common practice among Nosferatu. The bonds of our Clan are strong enouh without making our Childer sexually submissive.'' 

''But... you said yourself... you'd love to...'' 

''No, you've heard it wrong'', Hawk bent down to his Childe and carefully planted a kiss on his forehead, just below the terrible scars that were clearly visible, in spite of enhanced Kindred healing. ''I've been dreaming about making love to you, ever since I took my first glimpse, who wouldn't, you're so beautiful, so strong... You're my first Childe to survive the Embrace with his sanity intact, and you hardly ever Changed physically. But I'd never, ever dominate you.'' 

''Not even... if I want to be... dominated?'' the boy murmured, dark, soulful eyes closing slowly in pleasure from his maker's gentle touch. 

Hawk glared him in utter shock. ''Why would you want to become submissive to me? You're everything I've ever hoped for! I'm gonna teach and protect and cherish you, and I know you're gonna make me very, very proud one day. Why sould I take you that way?'' 

The dark eyes opened again, burning with desperate need. ''Sire... I need you... you gave me... my life back... rebuilt my... broken body... gave me a family... I've never had. I... I want to be... yours...'' 

Hawk slid his big arms under the still sore body ofd his Childe and gathered the boy in a careful embrace. ''You are mine, sweet Childe!'' He couldn't resist the temptation to kiss those soft, yielding lips. ''There's no need to use you like that.'' 

The boy opened for him, inviting him in, and Hawk deepened the kiss for a miment, sliding his tongue in the willing depths, then withdrew, albeit reluctantly. The kid tasted maddeningly delicious. He gave a small whimper of loss when his Sire withdrew, clinging to the bigger man with weak, desperate fingers, and in a sudden moment of clarity Hawk understood that his Childe, Indeed, wanted to be Claimed and possessed by him. The boy wanted to belong. 

''All right, kid'', the older Nosferatu said. ''If that really is what you need, I'll Claim you. But not right now. You're still much too weak for that. You're gonna need several months of healing and extensive therapy before we could even think of sex. Kindred love is wild and violent sometimes, we can't always control our passions. But I'll teach you.'' 

''Promise?'' 

''I swear by the Blood of my Clan'', Hawk sliced his own tongue with the point of a fang and kissed the kid again, deeply and passionately this time, letting him suck on his tongue until the small wound healed, as the ritual of Blood Oath demanded. Then, he carefully laid the boy back onto his pillow, savouring the view of his beauty, the liquid eyes, the wet and seollen lips, the smooth, mahoganey-coloured skin, the hard planes of the beautifully sculped, compact, muscular body. He could hardly believe that such an exquisite creature had just offered himself freely to him. 

''Rest now, mine own'', he murmured, stroking the boy gently. ''The time will come... I promise...'' 


	3. Chapter 3: Finding a Home

THE RETURN OF FORREST GATES

by Soledad Cartwright

A ''Pathways in the Dark'' story.

Disclamer: Most of the characters in this story belong to their respective creators. The Nosferatu characters' names were borrowed from the Nosferatu Genealogy of White Wolf Online. I don't know a thing about them, but found the names interesting and gave the characters a background of my own. 

Rating: R (I think), for f/m sexual context and blood play

Author's notes:

I've been asked about the many Nosferatu characters that appear in this part of the story - seemingly without any reason. Well, that is not entirely so, although the reason might not be clear just yet. Later, when Hawk moves to L.A. to take over the responsibility of the Nosferatu Primogen, these very same vampires would form the hard core of his followers, building, uncharacteristically, a Nosferatu community which will support their Primogen - and the new Prince of the City (who is Angel) as well - with crucial information the Nosferatu are so very talented to gather. I had to introduce them somewhere, and since this is a Nosferatu story altogether, I thought it would be the best place.

About the Claiming - this is part of the feudal system vampiric culture kept alive from the Middle Ages. Again, you might or might not agree with my concept in this (shared by many fellow writers, by the way). I just wanted to warn you, that it plays an important part in my AU.

There will be probably two or three more chapters to this particular story - eventually.

CHAPTER TREE: BECOMING A MONSTER

Timeline: Summer break of 2000 

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

Timeline: Summer break of 2000 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The small interlude with his newly-Embraced Chidle had left Hawk extremely horny. It was pure luck that Bat Child found Sunset just about the same time. 

The young black woman was a Nosferatu, no doubt about it, but a Failed one: a clanless Anarch, with mixed blood in her veins, made by some idiotic minions - practically raped over to eternal unlife by a buch of other clanless Anarch. She used to reside in L.A., until a rather unfriendly run-in with Angelus, only a few weaks earlier,* and fled to Sunnydale, hoping to find a better hiding place in the vast underground caverns. But she only found the Slayer and her lackeys, and was now in just as much danger as in L.A. 

Bat Childe found her wounded and scared in an abandoned crypt and rought her to the Primogen to decide about her fate. Hawk eyed the girl meticiously and liked what he saw. She wasn't very tall, but slender and pleasantly rounded on all the right places, with firm breasts and an especially sweet, round ass, her thighs well-shaped and musculous. Exactly the thing he needed in his bed, at least until his Childe could take that place, specifically reserved for him. 

''Do you want to join our Clan, following the Rules and Traditions of the Camarilla?'' He asked. The girl glared at him with big, terrified eyes. She'd never even heard about the Camarilla, but she knew all too well, that without a pack, her chances to survive were almost nothing. Still, she wasn't able to give a proper answer, since she hadn't even understood the question. 

''Who's your Sire?'' Hawk continued. 

The girl shrugged. ''I don't know. I was attacked by a street gang and got bitten. I thought I was gonna die. Then I awoke alone, some time later, hurting all over, crazy with the Thirst...'' 

''She's not one of poor blood'', Bat Child said. ''I'm afraid, there were several minions of different origins who made her. But she's Nosferatu... more or less.'' 

''That won't be a problem'', Hawk said. ''I'll Claim her and declare her part of my own family.'' 

''That might not be enough'', Bat Child warned him. ''She hasn't been properly Embraced. She won't be able to control the Beast, unless you Blood Bond her.'' 

Hawk shook his head. ''I don't intend to take her freedom. Taking her in my bed is one thing... but the Blood Bond would make her less than a slave.'' 

''And more than a lover'', Bat Childe remainded gently. ''As her Regnant, you would be able to control her blood lust, read her thoughts - and she'd be able to read yours. She'd never be alone again - and you'd have a willing lover for your pleasure.'' 

''Exactly the thing I won't force upon anyone. We're not the Ventrue, Bat Child.'' 

''But she might need it, Hawk'', the smaller Nosferatu insisted. ''Look how confused, frightened and lost she is. She needs your guidance, your protection... and your skills. You can teach her things she'd never dreamed of. Otherwise, I won't give her a decade. Not here, in the Slayer's Domain... or in L.A., in Angelus'.'' 

Hawk had to agree with the wisdom of Bat Child's words. Still... 

''I'll think about it'', he said. ''First let me tend her injuries. Then I'll Claim her. We can decide about the rest later.'' 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sunset didn't object, so Hawk cleaned up her wounds, then took her to his bedroom. 

''Sit'', he instructed her. ''Before we take this any further, I want you to understand your choices.'' 

''Do I have any?'' the young woman asked bitterly. 

Hawk nodded. ''Sure. You can leave Angelus' Domain and seek shelter in an Anarch or Sabbat city. I won't keep you here by force. Or you can stay here with us and move back to L.A. as a part of my household.'' 

''Which part?'' 

''There are three possibilities. You can accept my protection, as long as you keep the Rules of the Camarilla. I'll plea for your safety by Angelus, and he'll most likely provide it. Or I can Claim you, adopting you into my own bloodline. This way, you'd be officially my Childe, no matter who your real Sires used to be. It would give you a stable place in Kindred society. Or I can Blood Bond you, make you my thrall. As your Regnant, I'd take every responsibility from you. You'd be safe and guarded every moment in your unlife. But you won't be free any more. You'd be my property. As Bat Chidle said: more than a lover but less than a slave.'' 

Sunset shuddered. ''N-noo... I won't be your slave. I won't be anybody's property. If this is the only way, I'd rather you killed me now.'' 

''It's not the only way'', Hawk said, ''and I won't force this Ventrue slavery upon you. I've been born into slavery after all, I know damn well what's it like. That's why I offer you the choice. Do you want to stay with us? To belong to my household?'' 

Sunset rose her eyes to face him. ''Yes, please'', she said quietly. ''I do want to belong. You can screw me as much as you want, just let me stay.'' 

''Sunset, the Claiming isn't simply sex'', Hawk explained patiently. ''It's about making a Childe my own, through blood-sharing and - well, sex, too. My scent on you would tell every other Kindred that you have a legitimate Sire now, a bloodline and a family that will protect you. But you can simply stay with us as an associate, too, if the Claiming goes against your wish.'' 

''It doesn't mean too much to me'', Sunset admitted. ''I just don't want to be alone any more.'' 

''It should mean a lot to you'', Hawk warned. ''Once Claimed, I can demand from you to share my bed any time I want. The Claiming gives me the full Sire's rights over a Childe. I also can send you to my Childe when I feel it necessary. Are you ready to accept that?'' 

Sunset nodded. She knew full well what becoming the Childe of the intimidating Nosferatu would mean. But it was still better - a whole lot better - than living on her own, without guidance and protection. At least Hawk gave her a choice. 

''I understand'', she said in a somewhat shaky voice, ''and I choose to belong to your family. I never really had a family... not even when I was still Warm.'' 

The big, scary man nodded. 

''Very well. Then come to my bed now.'' Sunset obeyed, and there hadn't been much talking for a very long time. Hawk turned out to be almost gentle in bed, certainly more so than the males of the Anarch gang that had made Sunset and continued using her in an almost rape-like fashion. It was actually more like lovemaking than the casual, rough fucking she was used to. And when she felt the fangs of her foster Sire piercing her neck, Sunset went over the edge and truly climaxed, for the very first time since her Becoming. 

Hawk was thoroughly enjoying himself. It had been too long for him, and the small, firm body under him so beautifully yielding. He only used the basics of his skills to bring the girl to release and was surprised by her explosive reaction when he marked her. 

''Good girl'', he murmured, waiting for her to calm down. ''Bat Child almost manages to find the jewels in the dirt. You still have to learn a lot, though, before I can give you to my Childe... but I'll teach you. I want you to be his.. and I want you to be able to satisfy his needs... all of them.'' 

''And yours'', Sunset looked up to him with pleading eyes. ''Please, Sire...'' 

The word falling from her quivering lips warmed Hawk's heart. He might not have made her, still, she was his Childe now - and what a sweet, eager Childe she was! 

''If you want to'', he agreed. ''You are mine now. I'll love you and teach you and protect you, just as I do with my boy. I'll take care of your needs and expect the same from you. I won't Blood Bond you, since it's against your wish, but by sharing my blood with you, we'll have a bond anyway... one tha doesn't bond your will, bu connects you to me. You'll never be alone any more.'' 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Recovery had been a long time for young Forrest - Hawk had learnt his name finally, after Four-Eyes, their computer wizard, managed to copy all the remaining Initiative files in the collapsed labs and comb through them -; it took him months, despite andvanced Kindred healing. Most of this time he spent laying naked among the soft, white silk sheets Hawk had purchased for him - even clothing would have been painful for his slowly healing wounds. But he was recovering, nevertheless, and spent more and more time awake - well, half-awake at least. Anyway, it made him more able to listen to the murmured conversations around him. 

The others kept watching ober him, never leaving him alone, not even for a sec, and he slowly started to notice small differences between them - beyond the obvious ones as gender and skin colour. Listening to their conversations, he began to know him more and more every passing day, and understood, how lucky he was comparing to them, who didn't even know their Sires, or what generation they actualy belonged, which made them hardly more than outcasts even among their own Clan. Very few respected Kindred were open-minded enough to look at their achievments and worthiness, instead of their unlucky origins. 

Four-Eyes, for example, had been around for almost two centuries. He used to be a college professor - a historian -, until forcibly Embraced by some unknown Nosferatu in the cellar of his own college. He went through the burtal Change without any help, and miraculously kept his sanity, but lost everything else that had ever made his life worthwile: his beloved profession, his wife and small children, all his belongings. Out of fear that he might harm his mortal family when the Beast gets out of control, he left the small town he'd spent his whole mortal life after he finished Becoming, without looking back. Fortunately, later he met the Justicar Petrodon (Hawk's Sire), who was impressed by his knowledge and kept him on his side to teach his Childer. When Hawk was selected as L.A. Primogen, Petrodon asked Four-Eyes (who got his name because of his old-fashioned glasses) to join him. The two having been friends for over a century, Four-Eyes readily obeyed. Forrest grew fond of the tall, uncharacteristically well-clad Nosferatu scholar, who still looked like a college professor (except of his taloned hands, but he had learnt to work with his talons on computers years ago), and was a bit disappointed when the man left for L.A. to prepare their new haven. But Hawk promised him that Four-Eyes will be available and happy to share his knowledge, once they had moved to L.A. themselves. 

Bat Child, of course, was another matter entirely. He went willingly and eagerly into the Dark - but suffered severe memory loss during the Change, which wasn't so merciful to him as to Four-Eyes. The small guy must have died severely malnourished, since he looked so incredibly thin, and his face looked more like that of a bat (with big, pointed ears and an elongated snout) than that of a man. He was also often dirty and smelly from the sewers where he spent most of his time and wore filthy clothes, despite Hawk's efforts to keep him in a somewhat acceptable shape. But he had a gentle, almost child-like soul, longing for love and acceptance - and an irresistible curiosity. Forrest was deeply grateful for that, since this curiosity was what actually saved his life, leading Bat Child into the remnants of the Initiative labs where the small Nosferatu detected his broken, dying body. Bat Child was used to be tossed around and looked down at, and followed Hawk - the only respectable member of the Clan who seemed to genuinely like him - around like a faithful puppy. 

Isis actually represented an anomaly in Clan Nosferatu, through the fact that she was beautiful: a small, fragile-looking, dark-skinned woman of Indian descent, who looked incredibly sexy with her fine-boned, bald skull, pointed, little fairy ears, long, graceful neck and huge, cat-like dark eyes. As a mortal, she served in a Temple of Kali as a sacral dancer and became orphaned after the priests destroyed her Sire and lover. Isis took bloody vengeance on the priests, then, after having lived in the ruins of the Temple for decades (and being feared and worshipped by the local folks as an incarnation of the Goddess), she left India and came to the States through Singapore, some time in the late 19th century. 

Chen was her lover and her soul-mate ever since. Chen used to be a middle-aged Chinese merchant whose family had been killed during the Boxer Rebellion. He also was one of the very few people who've experienced the actions of Angelus and his family first hand and lived to tell the tale... well, sort of, since he'd already been a vampire at that time, albeit a newly made one, and watched with morbid fascination the Anarch clan falling apart because of Angelus' regaining his soul. He warned the Slayer (who, in fact, had been a niece of his), not to go after the weakened Master Vampire, because he knew that the youngest member of the group. William the Bloody, would defend his Master by any means necessary, but the girl wouldn't listen. When she was killed, there weren't any living family left for Chen to protect. He decided to leave China and start a new unlife (since his Sire got killed in the fire in Beijing, before he could ask which bloodline he actually belonged). Luckily, he met Isis in Singapore shortly after that, and they never left each other any more. 

Peter, the Cockroach, a small, puny and ugly guy, had already lived in the sewers as a human. He was homeless, penniless, without any family and without a job, in spite of his incerdible mechanical skills. One night, a hungry Nosferatu group invided his hiding hole and decided to take him as dinner. They got a bit carried away with feeding and drained him almost completely. When his heart stopped, the vampires got worried (they were Camarilla types, after all) and hurriedly Embraced him - then abandoned him, as soon as he went through the Change. He was never told which one had actually sired him. After decades of aimless and lonely wanderings he ended up in Sunnydale, shortly after the big earthquake. Here he met Bat Childe, and they had stuck together against the rest of the world ever since. 

Sunset was the youngest addition to the group - and the youngest one, too, only a couple of years in the Dark. Isis took the confused girl under her wings, shared her centuries-long experience with her, taught her, guided her. Forrest was surprised that the girl was able to keep her hair and a thoroughly human appearance - not unlike the vampires he was used to through his Initiative work -, but the others explained him that Sunset, in fact, was of mixed heritage, just as most of the Caitiff at the Hellmouth, and so her Change was only partial, at least on the outside. 

This was the family he found, after having died not only once but twice already - but this time, it seemed, he was in for the duration. Save of unfortunate accidents or a run-in with the Slayer, he was done with dying, forever. 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

* See: First Impressions, AtS, season2.

For better visualisation, I've 'cast' actors for the parts of the Nosferatu characters - as follows:

Four-Eyes -Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson from Stargate)

Sunset -Kelli Kirkland (the young black felamle vampire from First Impressions, AtS)

Chen -Robert Ito (Sam Fujigama from the TV-series ''Quincy M.E.'')

Isis - Persis Khambatta (Ilia from the 1st Star Trek movie)

Bat Child - Dustin Hoffman (no need to introduce him, hopefully; I was inspired by his character in Asphalt Cowboy)

Peter the Cocroach -Max Grodénchik (Rom the Ferengi from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

Alonzo Guillen -Peter Williams (Apophis from Stargate - the character will appear later, in L.A.)


End file.
